Ranma 0.5: Silent Knights
by Midnight Sun
Summary: A land consumed by eternal night. A realm where the golden rays of the sun have not been seen for the last 287 years. This is an existence where the darkness deep in the souls of man has finally been given form.


Disclaimer: Ranma and any characters depicted in this story do not belong to me.   
I am not making a single cent off this story.   
  
  
  
Mini-Note:   
Since I took time to write this, I thought I'd leave it up on the net instead   
letting it collect dust on a floppy disk. However, don't expect this to be   
updated anytime soon. I MAY work on this someday, but two fics are more than   
enough for me. My core creations, Shadowlands and Age of the Superhuman are   
undergoing revisions as you read, with Shadowlands nearing its completion. So   
expect to see it sometime within the next week or two.  
  
Age of the Superhuman was a spur of the moment fic, so I never really took   
additional chapters into consideration while I was writing it. As such, it is   
undergoing a minor rewrite, nothing too fancy, just adding a few things to make   
it that much better.  
  
So for those who haven't read this yet. ENJOY!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
***= Change in setting or POV. Tread carefully.  
  
IMPORTANT:   
Please read Author's Notes at the end of the chapter for important information.   
  
This story has been submitted WITHOUT enduring the scrutiny of a pre-reader. You   
have been warned.........  
  
  
Summary:   
The time is now, but the world is not. This is a land consumed by eternal night.   
A realm where the golden rays of the sun have not been seen for the last 287   
years. This is an existence where the darkness deep in the souls of man has   
finally been given form. Creatures of the night exist, dark powers and black   
magic are wielded by those who would seek to hunt the innocent. But in this   
melding of modern-day and fantasy, there exist those whose sole purpose is to   
protect those who cannot protect themselves. Warriors who use the powers granted   
to them by the Arts to defend against the dark that has dominated the land.  
  
These are the tales of them and they world they live in. The chronicles of the   
Silent Knights...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 0: The Black Sun  
  
  
  
  
Darkness.  
  
It has been a long-established constant within the world. It is all   
encompassing, all encroaching, and it has been an element with which man has to   
adapt throughout the ages. The philosophies of yin and yang, good and evil, and   
black and white have been mixed to a gray. It was long believed that night was   
pure black, a place where only evil could exist and perpetuate.   
  
But here is a world where good can exist within the dark. This is a world where   
the absolute borders of conscience have been broken in places. To truly   
understand this new-age philosophy, one must see with their eyes instead of   
heeding the words of mouth. Such an opportunity has arisen, watch closely...and   
learn...  
  
  
  
  
  
The soft sound of clacking penetrated the night . Shoes against the concrete of   
an empty sidewalk brought a monotonous rhythm to the silence all around.   
Illumination was not of existence in this area lined with shops, bakeries, and   
cafes. However a seemingly prosperous hub of commerce and social interaction was   
void of life, as we know it.  
  
The only semblance of existence was that of the soundless fluttering of small   
orbs of light, the soft glow being the size of a small marble. These peaceful   
creatures gently rode the air on transparent wings, their light a yielding gold   
that gave contrast to the obscurity surrounding them.   
  
The creatures known as Espers were the only illumination granted to the woman   
who walked down the now barren street. She was of middle age, and in her arms   
was that of a small child of tender age. He slept quietly in her motherly   
embrace, the child being a sweet symbol of innocence in this time of impurity   
and corruption. Her footsteps carried themselves amidst the dark allies between   
the establishments. Echoes bounced off the dinged brick and stonewall, mixing   
together to form a repetitive jingle of movement.  
  
Then a sound is entrapped in an ear. Her feet halt and her auditory sensors perk   
at a sound that might only be her imagination. Her head moves from one to   
another, eyes attempting to force their way through the thick soup of darkness   
that is patches by dots of light.  
  
She is met with nothing more than silence and absence of life. She attributes   
the noise to nothing more than the paranoia beginning to creep into the recesses   
of her mind. She continues onward with an increased pace. A sound that was once   
constant and fluid was now rapid and forced, but despite her boosted fervor to   
be in the safe confines of her home, danger still loomed under her senses.  
  
Predators lurked the streets with her. Dark beings seeking the rich blood of the   
unassuming, evils that feed off the night to make themselves that much stronger   
than they already are. These beings have found their new prey, and they begin to   
move in for the savored kill. Each one shrouded within the black, their eyes   
burning the red that is the color of all life-fluid they so eagerly crave.  
  
The woman's pace heightened to a near run. She could feel a chill running down   
her spine. A cold sweat was beginning to form on her brow and the beating of her   
heart quickened with the onset of adrenaline. Her rasped breathing was the only   
thing that she could hear, and the intensity of her drive to get away being the   
only thing she could feel. She could sense the darkness beginning to close in   
around her. No matter how fast she ran, they moved faster. No matter how much   
she prayed to be spared, they would show no mercy. They fed off fear, and to   
them she was nothing more than a wounded animal waiting to picked apart by the   
vultures.  
  
The sounds of her flight were halted by the horrific presence of twin eyes in   
the darkness before her. One could see the twisted malice and mania amidst the   
depths of rusted red. She stumbled backward several steps, only to run into yet   
another inescapable barricade. She whirled around only to face the presence of a   
second nightmare, but the horror did not end there. For in the middle of the   
street to her left, a third hellish creation did make its presence known.  
  
All three had a devil's grin that bared fangs that could only be of a vicious   
use. Each one exuded an aura of the evil intent and murderous carnage that was   
synonymous with the rank of vampire. These 21st century bloodsuckers enclosed   
their target as the woman could only search frantically for someway, anyway, to   
escape the inevitable.  
  
"P...please...d...don't kill me. I...I have a family......" She hoped to   
entertain some semblance of non-existent sympathy. "S...spare my child at least.   
Please..."  
  
"Talon, Blade, Crimson! Halt." A detached and commanding presence bade them to   
cease their advance.   
  
Each name was called respectively. One was tall and thin and had hair wild in   
all directions possible, the second was of a burly stature whose hair was spiked   
and cascaded down his back, and the third was the average of the three with   
locks of a purple-black variety that parted down the center of his head.  
  
"Give us the child, sweetmeat, and we will spare your worthless life," The same   
voice offered.  
  
The mother's eyes widened in horror at such an unholy proposal. To think such   
monster's existed, that they would be content to subsist on the most innocent of   
human life. Her expression, a mix of shock, disgust, and pure terror, prompted   
the three to resume their hungered advance. It was quite the obvious the woman   
would not surrender her child to the hellspawn that were poised to suck her dry   
and then take the child for their own twisted purposes anyway. The number of   
feet separating the oncoming massacre lessened, and the woman began a short   
prayer to deity she worshipped that at least her child be spared a slow and   
painful death.   
  
Then there movement ceased suddenly. Their collective eyes narrowed, and the   
sensation of a new presence crawled through their skin. The woman slowly opened   
her eyes, the pain associated with being eviscerated being non-existent prompted   
her to see why she was still alive. The trio's sights were on everything but   
their prey, their eyes scouring the area around them for the source of this   
sudden and formless disturbance.  
  
The luminous flight of the Espers suddenly came to a stop. They floated inert in   
the air as if lounging on the calm waves of a sea. Blade looked up, and his eyes   
fell upon the darkened silhouette of a figure standing atop the same building   
the woman was huddled against. Details were minimal within the black, the   
outline of her form suggested a female, and possibly a short-haired one at that.  
  
All three laughed inwardly at this singular threat to their superiority, no one   
human could stand against them. That is when another anomaly caught Talon's   
notice. He turned his gaze to his right, and found another form in the darkness;   
it was some distance away and even more difficult to formulate some semblance of   
identification. He raised an eyebrow in slight bewilderment but his attention   
was averted from this by a grunt of slight surprise from Blade.  
  
A purple light began to emit from the creature upon the roof. It glowed brightly   
like a star in the infinite void of space. This beacon of light then subsided to   
give rise to flame. A violet fire encompassed the hand of the being before them;   
its illumination allowed them a better view of whoever the foolish wench who   
opposed them was. Indeed her hair was short, and it stopped at the base of her   
neck, the features of her face told them she was of young age, possibly in the   
realm of sixteen to eighteen.   
  
Her hand closed into a fist that was then aimed at Blade, of which Talon and   
Crimson were on the right and left of. His eyes only had time to widen slightly   
before a tendril of energy shot forth from the top of the hand. Its speed was   
like a bullet fired from a gun, and indeed slight recoil could be made out from   
the arm of the girl. The tendril coiled and maneuvered down the side of the   
building before curving yet again and slamming full-force into the vampire's   
chest. The impact buried the wisp partially into its chest before blowing him   
clear off his feet and carrying him across the street. He slammed violently into   
a store window and onward, blasting straight through shelves and stands before   
coming to a skidding stop.  
  
On the outside, the tendril began to slither and retract as if it were alive. It   
retreated back to its point origin, and when it did the flame that spawned   
disappeared in a flicker. As soon as it did the unknown female launched herself   
into the air in a leap that seemingly defied gravity. The remaining duo watched   
as she sailed over their heads and landed just in front of the building the   
largest of the three hellions had been buried in. Her back was to them, but they   
could see that the girl was clad in some sort of skin-tight black suit. Her   
attention was not on them, as she appeared to be waiting for something to happen   
within the destruction the flying brute had caused.  
  
Talon gave a snarl of rage. Not at the fact that his comrade had just been blown   
off his feet as if he weighed nothing, but at the fact that the impudent woman   
would dare ignore him. He took a single step, before he was struck with a burst   
of remembrance. He gaze shifted back to the unknown visage he had seen down the   
street. Indeed the form was of better clarity, as it appeared to be approaching   
them at a casual pace. However, that pace was broken by sounds of the footsteps   
increasing to a maddening tempo.  
  
In equivalent, the figure began approaching at a feverish speed. Talon turned to   
face the newcomer. At that same time the unknown person leaped forward and once   
he again he followed her with his eyes...until he realized she had leapt   
straight at him. Before he could move to place his position out of the line of   
fire, the figures foot found its mark on his face. The inhuman impact of the   
blow was like nothing he had felt before. He flew backward and away, slamming   
hard into the ground and rolling to a stop.   
  
The figure landed in a crouch, and Crimson fetched a look at the being that had   
felled another of his kin. She too was female and was dressed in same way as the   
other, and she too had hair cut short, but this one did not possess the precise   
cut at the end like the other had. Much like the previous assailant, this one   
chose to ignore all others outside her primary target, of which was getting back   
to his feet and whose face was enraptured with total rage and contempt for the   
female. This sight caught her notice as well, but instead of fleeing at the   
danger of incurring a vampire's wrath, she charged forward.  
  
Instead of seeing such an act as an insult, Crimson simply saw it as an   
opportunity. He murderous gleam twinkled in his blood red eyes as his sights   
fell upon the shaking woman again. She thought she had been saved, she should   
have taken the opportunity to run for dear life, but her accursed legs would not   
move. Now the last of the standing vampires had his vile intentions back on her   
and her helpless child. He once again brought his fangs to bear, and chortled a   
vicious laughter that brought images of her own gruesome slaughter running   
through her mind.  
  
His forward motion was stopped; a hand gave firm and almost painful grasp to his   
shoulder. He cringed and snarled as he looked to his rear and finding a third   
interloper. His annoyance at the constant distractions was prevalent, but this   
one did not seem to care. He shrugged off the offensive hand and attacked in the   
same breath, a backfist hurtling toward her face at a speed only a vampyre could   
produce. He expected to see her head knocked clear off her shoulders; instead   
his blow was stopped cold in its path, and by a single hand. His face was   
invaded by sudden and complete surprise as he found himself being lifted into   
air and then sent traveling through it. His arm had been captured and used as   
the source with which to send him traveling, courtesy of a shoulder throw.  
  
He instantly ascertained his situation after retrieving his wits in mid-air. The   
demon righted himself and came to a landing on both feet a good distance away   
from the human. He sneered as he took sight of his opponent. This one was the   
tallest of the three, this gave him the indication that her possible age may put   
her in the eldest standing between them. Her hair was in contrast to the others,   
as it was long and tied off so that it ran down her back.   
  
His sneer turned to amusement in a flash. A sinister laugh filled the area; it   
was thick with arrogance and pity for his hapless enemy. Surely these pathetic   
members of the weaker sex had no idea as the power he and his comrades   
possessed. If they did, they would not walked into this suicidal course they had   
set for themselves. His smirk vanished as he noticed that woman in front of him   
bore no fear at his presence, it was clear he would have to teach her her proper   
place in the scheme of nature. As such he clenched his fists, and a cloak of   
black fire that could only be ignited within the pits of hell overcame him. He   
thought this night would be boring, nothing more than a helpless kill to satisfy   
his hunger. But now it seemed he would have some entertainment with his meal,   
and he so loved to play with his food.  
  
  
  
  
She stood in silent wait for the monster to re-emerge, knowing full well the   
initial attack was not enough to finish it. People who cared knew this girl's   
name to be Nabiki, but unfortunately the enemy before her could care much less   
as to what the name of his prey was. His eyes began to emerge from the darkness   
of the building he had been sent through. One could almost feel the earth shake   
from each footstep of the heavily muscled of the three known as Blade.   
  
His foot touched the outside once again, crushing the already shattered glass   
into so much fine powder as he did. He stared at his diminutive opponent, and he   
could almost hurl at the fact that this small...thing...had caused him pain. He   
would take far too much joy in tearing IT limb from limb and feed the rotting   
corpse to the worms. But first...he would have to catch her...  
  
In the blink of an eye, or perhaps even less time, his fist was already cutting   
through the air on a course of sure, crushing death toward his enemy. The   
wrecking ball of a fist buried itself in the pavement of the street, his   
unnatural strength being one of the greatest of his kind. He had expected to a   
bloody, pulpy substance upon his knuckles when he withdrew, instead he found   
pieces of rock crumbling off his hand. He looked up toward the sky, just in time   
see her descending upon him feet first.   
  
The impact did not hurt much; she seemed to lack the raw strength necessary to   
physically harm him. However, just as contact was made she launched off in a   
back flip. Her push off caused him to lose balance temporarily and stumble   
backward several steps. He growled quite audibly as he caught himself and a hand   
became enveloped in a dark fire. He thrust the palm forward and a jet of demonic   
flame lanced forward seeking to consume its target in its infinite flesh-  
devouring hunger. A might explosion lit the air on impact. Chunks of rock and   
tar were thrown to the wind as a result, but his target still remained among the   
living.   
  
His sights moved to the right to find her unsinged, having apparently avoided   
the blast by vaulting left upon landing. This time, both her hand were   
enshrouded by the same lavender inferno that she produced earlier. Once again   
they were both closed tightly into fists, and one tendrils of the same type   
before shot from each one. With the same marvelous speed they cleared the   
distance between Nabiki and Blade and coiled themselves around the killer's   
forearms. He suddenly felt himself pitch forward as the snake like vines of   
purple energy tugged both his arms viciously. He slowly began forcing his arms   
back in a display of impressive strength; the girl's planted feet begin to skid   
forward against the resistance.  
  
He laughed at the utter ineptitude of the girl. Was she mad enough to try and   
test her minute strength against his? Obviously he had given far too much   
credit; as little as it was to begin with.   
  
The tug-of-war continued unabated. Any passerby could clearly see that Blade   
would be the victor, but it seems that looks are all too deceiving in this case.   
Her eyes began to glow with unearthly force of a same color as the tendrils   
themselves. Blade took notice of this and gave a grunt of question as to what   
this could mean in the outcome of their battle. He suddenly felt another violent   
pull, this one far stronger than before. His arms were nearly wrenched from   
their sockets, and he was ill prepared to resist. He fought with all his   
strength but for some reason he could no longer rival that of his enemy who was   
two times his lesser in height and build.  
  
She suddenly threw her arms out to her sides, and in a violent display of gore   
the vampire's arms were torn from their host body in geysers of black hued   
blood. A near deafening roar escaped the lips of the giant as pain became all he   
could feel. The tendrils threw the severed limbs away as they retracted back   
into the hands that wielded them with so much proficiency. Her eyes still burned   
with the same psionic energy that did energize her hands. His physical strength   
may have been more than she could ever match, but it was nothing compared to the   
strength of her mind. It was sharper and keener than any her age, and it showed   
by the intensity of the flames she commanded.  
  
Her eyes narrowed as she aimed at the monster's head. For the final time a   
tendril of psionic energy was formed and sped through air at a frightening rate.   
It pierced the brute's skull and continued a path into his brain. It buried   
itself into his nerve center, causing already irreversible damage. With but a   
flicker of thought, Nabiki sent a pulse surging through the tendril. His eyes   
shot open as his brain exploded in its shell.  
  
The tendril created a wet sound as it retracted from the hole followed by a gray   
and red ooze that ran down the vampire's face. He collapsed to his knees before   
falling aimlessly onto his face in a near earth-shaking impact. The fires around   
her hands and eyes subsided, and she let out a breath of relief.  
  
"Bigger they come..."   
  
  
  
  
Talon rolled to his feet after being kicked for who knows how far. He rubbed his   
chin that burned in intense agony. How could a human girl possess such strength?   
And the speed with which she was upon him was amazing. However, if she wanted to   
see fast, he would show her fast.  
  
His eyes fell upon the girl charging him. Once again her rate of movement was   
far past normal but this time he was prepared. When he was within range she let   
loose a barrage of fists that all seemed to come at once. The creature of the   
night kept pace with the torrent as each punch whizzed harmlessly by his face   
and body. In a sudden burst of velocity he literally blurred from sight.  
  
He grinned with pompous egotism as he reappeared at her rear. She was obviously   
far too slow to be any kind of challenge for the 'Speed Demon' himself. As soon   
as he rephased a leg was already reared back and aimed for her temple. His tall   
stature compared to her relatively short size made it an easy target. His leg   
flew, but it struck air and nothing more.   
  
His soon to be killed opponent had ducked under the blow. It was   
impossible...she could not have that fast a reaction. Not enough to know where   
he had reappeared and still have enough time to avoid the attack. She then fell   
forward on to her hands and sent both her feet crashing into his stomach with   
obscene force. Once again he was sent flying backward and he crashed   
unpoetically a respectable number of feet away.  
  
He picked himself up quickly and immediately formulated a new course of action.   
Hand-to-hand would not work, so he needed to give himself a noticeable   
advantage. With that thought in mind, the same shadow blaze that his partners   
possessed came to life around his body. He threw both palms forward and twin   
balls of the hellish energy launched themselves to rend his enemy to sunders.   
Twin bursts of fire and light erupted as the struck the ground where she stood.   
The blasts blew her backward and she skidded to a painful halt along the asphalt   
road.  
  
Talon took this opportunity to strike. He straightened the fingers of one hand   
and by force of will formed a single blade around them, composed of the same   
power that all vampires could wield. He charged toward his helpless prey, who   
was just beginning to regain herself. He aimed furious slashes in her direction,   
the black energy sword cutting swathes through the air with ridiculous ease. Her   
precarious position made dodging the lethal strikes a trial in itself.  
  
He grinned as he saw the tide turn so quickly into his favor. The girl would   
tire eventually; she could not keep up with him forever. His theory was sound,   
for he struck in a diagonal slash and he could the brief surface tension of   
blade against skin. To her it was only a flash of black before her eyes, but   
before she could contemplate what had happened a fierce backfist that rocked   
across her mouth sent her sprawling again.  
  
He chuckled as he looked over his handiwork. A rather malicious gash ran   
diagonally across her face, forever marring her features. Blood began trickling   
down the corner of her mouth as he had most like knocked some teeth loose. He   
raised the blade high, a single swipe would decapitate the nuisance before him   
and then he would celebrate with a well-deserved drink. He brought it down, but   
instead of it severing vocal chord and artery, it was stopped flight by the   
girl's hand that had shot up to intercept his wrist. He instinctively brought   
his other hand into play, generating a second blade and letting it fly   
horizontally on a collision course with her neck.  
  
Other hand moving at great speed to halt its deadly course stopped the same   
result, his wrist. It turned into a struggle of supremacy, with the winner   
walking away with their life and the loser seeing the infinity that was the   
afterlife. Talon was forced to look upon the face of his enemy, it was overcome   
with a rage that rivaled even Blade, but that was not what was causing his eyes   
to bulge in astonishment. It was her face; the same horrendous wound that he had   
caused was now sealing itself before his very eyes! In the span of seconds the   
injury was non-existent, the only evidence of it ever being there was the blood   
left behind, and he could take a guess the same had happened to her mouth as   
well.  
  
His distraction was her chance. She lunged forward headfirst, sending her   
forehead crashing into his in a very disruptive head butt. He disengaged the   
grapple and reeled backward, clutching his throbbing brow and dispersing the   
blades on each hand. The girl brought her fist back, it shook as she channeled   
all the resentment and fury she associated with him. Small arcs of electricity   
bounced around before a bright red liquid fire exploded around it.  
  
She launched her fist forward, sending it careening toward the vampire's chest.   
It buried itself deep into his upper body, tearing past his lungs as well as   
vein and artery combined. Then it found its prey, his lifeless heart. Talon   
gasped in voiceless agony as she gripped the organ in her hand. In a minute   
surge of strength she squeezed and his center of existence exploded in her hand.   
  
His face was void of emotion as she withdrew her hand from the depths of his   
body. He fell backward in a lifeless heap as she shook her hand, causing large   
drops of black ooze to spill on the asphalt. The girl known to her family as   
Akane breathed heavily as the rush of the fight began to leave her and rage   
fueled power she had gathered began to subside.  
  
"Stupid vampires......"  
  
  
  
  
The final standoff was still commencing. Crimson could feel his vampiric power   
growing, and by what he could sense, the girl before him was pathetically   
lacking in that aspect. He was almost insulted by this front of courage she was   
putting up. She obviously had not been taught to recognize her superiors, and he   
was going to be the teacher for that particular lesson.  
  
He finally reached his peak and he gave a toothy grin, just so show her what lay   
ahead when he was finished slapping the proper sense into her. He reached an arm   
out to his side, in a flash a sword composed of the same material that   
strengthened him out of thin air. The girl was still seeking to oppose him, and   
he would take great sadistic perversity in slowly peeling her delicate skin from   
her bones.   
  
His lewd fantasies came to an end when he noticed unusual activity occurring   
from the Espers surrounding them. They were gathering around her, encircling her   
as electrons do an atom. Their combined golden light radiating outward and   
forcing the blood demon to cover his face and eyes.   
  
The surrounding flight pattern ceased abruptly as the Espers then chose to float   
a small distance away, as if giving themselves space. Then in a breathtaking   
display, small bolts of continuous lightning erupted from each creature. They   
all struck the girl at once, arcing and forking as they danced the surface of   
her body. Crimson stepped backward as his tolerance for the accursed light was   
low. His mind was nearly rush into his overload as he all of a sudden began to   
feel her power rise.  
  
What was once empty and nothing was slowly filling to capacity. An aura of   
golden fire coalesced around her form. Even her eyes began to feel the surge of   
the power as they begin to slowly tint an emerald green as lightning moved   
across them. In a burst, the fuel line was cut and the Espers slowly floated on   
sightless currents of air, their task completed. Her batteries were fully   
charged and it was quite a sight to behold. In the same fashion as Crimson she   
reached an arm out. Small ball of golden energy formed at the open palm. The   
ball then began to convulse and elongate until it form into a sword of pure   
power similar to the vampire's.  
  
Much to his disappointment, it looked like it was going to be a fair fight.   
Though it mattered not to him, despite the overwhelming increase in her power,   
he still believed himself to be superior. To prove that point, he would cut this   
girl down to size and prove that her so-called power was nothing more than an   
overdone light show.  
  
His thoughts proved to take too long to run through for the girl. For after   
several seconds of intimidating staring, she decided that action would be a far   
more effective judge of strength. She charged forward, her sword already bared   
and ready to cleave the demon in two. The dark one countered with his blade in a   
hastened defense, and the two energy weapons collided in a violent and   
spectacular clash of powers.   
  
Arcs of gold and black energy spilled forth from the encounter. Both were equal   
and neither one would flinch in the face of the other. The girl's face was of   
total calm and obliviousness to the severity of the conflict before her very   
eyes. This enraged the vampire even more, and he fought with redoubled effort to   
show her why he should be feared and not underestimated.   
  
The two broke off in a rush, each one vaporizing their weapons as soon as they   
did. Crimson proved himself to be the most powerful and skilled of the three in   
the use of their power. He brought both his palms together, his power gathering   
to a single point, causing its effectiveness to skyrocket. From this point fired   
a thin beam of a laser's quality that sizzled the air and was capable of cutting   
through solid stone like so much butter attempting to resist a hot knife. The   
tore through toward its target at light-speed, its firing and impact being one   
and the same at such a dizzying swiftness.  
  
What it did NOT strike and burn through was the flesh of the girl. Its path was   
halted by something that could not be seen by the naked eye. An invisible   
barrier that had at some point domed around the human female. Crimson pressed   
harder, but all the beam could accomplish was generating a bright orange spot   
giving respect to its intense heat. Without warning, this non-corporeal shield   
to expand, pushing the beam back toward its producer who tried in vain to halt   
the advance.  
  
Before he knew what was happened, his beam had been negated and the wall slammed   
into at full force. He looked like a fly on the windshield, as he was spread   
eagle while being carried off his feet. In seconds time he was pressed violently   
against the brick and mortar of a hardware store. He cringed as the unbearable   
pressure forced a crater to form in his impression, but relief came sooner than   
he expected.   
  
The shield dissipated with a motionless command by the girl. In a blur she moved   
into action once again. Without nearly the same fan-fare, the energy sword   
reappeared in her grasp and she came upon the demonic villain at great speed.   
Just as his pain-wracked body was falling, it was carried back up as the weapon   
was rammed deep into his chest. He was now impaled against the wall as the sound   
of flesh sizzling against a temperature reaching into the high hundreds. She   
grimaced only slightly, but that was all the contemplation needed before a wave   
of amperage conducted through the blade and infusing itself into his body.  
  
His screech seemed not of this world as thousands of amps of electricity ran   
through his blackening corpse. His form spasmed all too violently as it sounded   
as if his darkened soul was being rended asunder. Just as quickly as the   
onslaught came, it ended. His sizzling, charred remains lay limp and   
unrecognizable while spitted upon the translucent blade. She released her grip   
on the weapon, and as soon as she did it vanished into nothingness. The near   
skeletal remains of the hell monster fell to the ground in a crunch of flaking   
flesh. Cinders and ash wafted through the air as a gentle breeze came.  
  
Kasumi Tendo stared at the remains of the thing that had renounced its humanity   
in order to attain great power quickly, but at the cost of its soul. She did not   
kill this monster, for it was already dead. Its spirit already in the hands of   
the sire that gave it the black fire that empowered it.  
  
"Rest in peace.........whoever you once were........."  
  
  
  
  
The woman could only stare in awe as all three of her potential killers were   
dispatched. Her prayers must have been answered, surely this proved that a God   
truly did exist, for he had sent his archangels to banish the hellions from the   
face of the planet. Of course, her baby then chooses that moment to wail its   
displeasure.  
  
All three of the Tendo sisters congregated at the woman's front. The oldest   
approaching the righteous frightened woman and speaking a soft tone that   
paralleled her features.  
  
"It's not safe outside in the afternoon," She told her. "You should get home   
quickly, we will make sure you're not followed."  
  
"T...thank you. I owe you my life and the life of my child," She said frantic   
joy.   
  
"You owe us nothing," Kasumi smiled. "Just go home and be safe."  
  
She nodded fervently before regaining her footing and setting off at a fast   
pace. All three sisters watched as she disappeared into the night, the tension   
slowly releasing from all of them.  
  
It was instantly renewed however by the sound of a slow clapping piercing the   
silence of the night. Their faces turned stern as they brought their eyes to the   
opposite direction. Within the cloak of darkness a single figure could be seen   
giving his feelings a sound. He was young man that looked to be somewhere in the   
range of 16 to 18. His skin was brown, and his hair was a mop of pure white. He   
was clothed in a dark purple leather jacket that was zipped halfway, as well as   
pants of the same material and color. One hand was covered in a finger black   
glove, while the other was completely housed within a solid red glove.  
  
"Impressive dear Tendos," He snickered as he removed the sunglasses from over   
his eyes. His eyes were of a demonic red that symbolized the power he held   
within his grasp. "They were three of my most powerful followers. You seem to be   
getting stronger each day."  
  
"Yeah, and one day we're gonna be comin' right after you," Nabiki sneered. "So   
get ready, your days are almost numbered."  
  
"I look forward to the amusement," He grinned. "You three have been quite the   
irritation to me as of late, denying my followers refreshment at every turn is   
causing quite some restlessness."  
  
"Serves those monsters right!" Akane yelled back. "We're not gonna let them kill   
anymore innocent people! You tell them that!"  
  
"Spirited as ever," He murmured as he brought his gaze over the oldest of the   
three. Her eyes of calm serenity met his gaze of reserved and violent power. "To   
you Miss Tendo. I leave my most deepest hopes that we two shall meet again very   
soon."  
  
She gave no response, save the narrowing of her eyes at the demon lord.  
  
"Until next time," He bowed and was consumed in an explosion of black and red   
flame and electricity. The miasma of power overcame him and in with as much   
swiftness it dissipated, leaving nothing behind.   
  
"And there will be a next time," She finally whispered.  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
  
As you have just witnessed, good can come within the depths of the shadows to   
defend the weak and helpless. To lose hope in such a hopeless need not be a last   
resort. To lose faith in the kindness of strangers need not take grasp in the   
land of endless midnight. Such concepts still have meaning in a world where one   
might think hope is dead, where the light of miracles no longer shines, and   
where the greatest star of the sky is nothing then a twinkling dot in the   
infinity of the void.  
  
The next portion of this tale of introduction to the new world you face not in   
the form of another grand display of heroics. This one is merely a portrayal of   
a thing called survival. A concept that dictates one man's will to live in the   
face of seemingly impossible odds. This is the story of a traveling band of once   
strangers, people who have come together for the common goal of growing stronger   
in a realm of vicious and inhumanly strong beings of the night. Watch   
closely.........and learn.........  
  
  
  
  
The rural outskirts of Japan.   
  
Deep in the forests of evergreen and bushel, even Mother Nature has found the   
means to survive in a land where its once glorious giver of nourishment existed.   
Life cannot be so easily subverted by the simple disappearance of such critical   
elements. Life will adapt, life will evolve, and life will move on. In such   
simple organisms such as plants to complex forms of life like humans, this   
concept has repeated itself.  
  
Within the depths of the night, five individuals trek through the wood, a great   
river to one side and the deep and mysterious majesty of the forest on another.   
They walk in a simply but effective formation. Leaves crackle and branches snap   
under their footsteps. The sky above is alive with the twinkle of ten million   
fireflies in space and the ever-present Espers float lazily by upon the winds of   
an ocean of air.   
  
At the head of this pack is a pigtailed boy, probably sixteen or seventeen years   
old. His dress seems of a foreign influence. He bears a long sleeved Chinese   
oriented shirt of a green texture in color, as well as blackened pants.   
  
To his rear and right walks a boy of heartier stock and also of the same   
relative age. A yellow sleeveless muscle shirt tucked into black pants is his   
choice of clothing. He wears black wristbands as well as yellow and black   
bandanna about his forehead for reasons which he prefers to keep to himself.   
  
To the leader's left walks a young man of a modern fashion. He is sheathed in a   
black sleeveless shirt, but upon his feet he wears black combat boots that are   
complimented by military camouflage pants. Black gloves surround his hands and a   
white headband protects his brow.  
  
Taking up the rear of the diamond is the largest of the group, in waist size   
anyway. He is clearly the eldest of all of them, his looks telling of a man in   
his mid to late forties. He is clothed in a worn in white gi, a bandanna that   
conceals his bald cranium, and sports a pair of glasses that frame a face forged   
by experience.  
  
In the center of the pack walks the youngest of the group. A redheaded girl of   
about thirteen to fifteen years of age, whose visage gives a familiar feeling   
when compared to the boy in front of her. She also possesses a pigtail and her   
style of clothing is very similar to that of the pack's head, save the color of   
red instead of green. Her eyes are closed as she walks yet she is more than sure   
of her path.  
  
Four of the five each carried medium sized backpacks, but it was the man taking   
the right side the boar the largest load. He carried he pack that easily dwarfed   
him in size by at least three times, but his labor appeared minimal as visible   
effort could not be made out. There travels had been peaceful as of late. They   
had been allowed to enter Japanese territory without too much trouble, and they   
hoped it would stay that way. Their destination was still some days away and the   
last thing they wanted was unnecessary roughhousing, they knew it to be   
inevitable.   
  
As if to jinx them quickly, the girl at the center stops in her tracks. The lead   
had been listening intently at the sound of her footsteps, and at the sound's   
pause he too ceased his forward motion. The remaining three, who all turned   
their attention to her in question of this new development, soon followed them.   
Her eyes opened slowly, they were a bright blue that seemed to glow in the dark   
as they warily scanned their surroundings. They moved from right to left, taking   
in the darkness around them as if trying to find something in the thick soup.   
They came to fall upon the tree line to their left, and it moved about the   
treetops as well as everything in between.  
  
Her gaze shifted to her brother's back. He raised his left hand, a simple   
gesture that succeeded in garnering the attention of the men guarding his left   
and rear. With index and middle finger together he aimed toward the darkness   
between the trees. With silent recognition the military aficionado and the large   
martial artist each began to suddenly fade from sight in an action that seemed   
to warp reality slightly. Within the seconds, all traces of their presence no   
longer existed, as if nothing more than ghosts leaving this plane of existence.  
  
Moving on automatic, the pigtailed boy and the bandanna muscleman each moved to   
flank to red-headed young girl who sank to one knee.   
  
"Wolves..." The built young man known Ryoga Hibiki spoke as he dropped his all   
too big backpack. His well-developed canines could be made out as he spoke.  
  
"Mmmhmmm," His partner simply nodded in sound agreement. His name was Ranma   
Saotome, and the girl they protected, Ranko Saotome.  
  
That same girl seemed to be meditating from her new position. Her brow furrowed   
slightly as her she clasped her hands together. After a moment of silent   
deliberation, her eyes reopened, but this time they shined an unearthly white.   
The same effect overtook the retinas of her bodyguards. To them, the dark world   
around that surrounded lit up as new unknown sources of light appeared before   
their eyes only. Every possible center of illumination, be it wandering Espers   
or the reflection of the stars above in the clear blue river, was augmented to a   
high degree.  
  
Hearing was the also a recipient of this miraculous treatment. They could hear   
every leaf rustle, every branch sway, and every step the monster's that   
surrounded took. In the background they could hear the fevered panting of beasts   
hidden within the shadows. These pack hunters delighted in the flavor of hunter   
flesh, and would do anything to secure such a prized feast. These are the   
warrior beasts known as Werewolves; powerful berserkers and even greater   
huntsmen. No man has ever set foot within their territory and lived to recount   
the nightmare that descended upon them like the wrath of the seven hells.  
  
"They're coming..." She whispered quietly.  
  
Deep in the wooded glade, eyes began to emerge from the black of night. Filled   
with frenzy and a cannibalistic tinge born of intense hunger, they slowly began   
their advance, all of them hidden within the darkness. Each one possessed the   
strength of ten men, and the speed and agility of twenty. Alone they were   
powerful, but in packs they were invincible. Normal humans were nothing to them,   
just easy prey that existed for the sole purpose of being their food.   
  
Well this time, as the saying goes, the hunter is about to be the hunted...  
  
  
  
  
"They're here..." Ranma whispered.   
  
All at once, six of the beasts exploded from out of the brush. Each one was   
roughly twice the size of a man, capable of standing on their hind legs but   
preferred four, and had the muscle capacity of Greek demi-god. They moved as one   
fluid machine, each knowing what the other was thinking. They surrounded the   
trio in a perfect, constantly moving circle. Each one sniffing the air to get   
the taste into their mouths before the feast began.  
  
"I got the three on the left," Ryoga informed his partner.  
  
"Right side is mine...," Ranma concurred.  
  
With those last words the pigtailed boy crouched slightly before launching   
himself into the air in an impossibly high-leap. Three of the beasts took   
notice, snorted, and pushed off on their powerful hind legs in a jump after him.   
The remaining three eyed the two left on the ground and licked their lips as   
they assumed their ally had betrayed them to save his own skin.  
  
The remaining boy placed himself in front of the still kneeling girl. The   
remaining three wolves chortled in their own guttural manner at the singular   
obstacle that dared try to oppose his destiny as their dinner. His face was   
straight and collected, even in the menacing presence of the furred man-killers.   
  
With that noted, two of the three launched themselves at inhuman speed toward   
the boy. A bestial roar escaped the lips of the two as their claws came to bear,   
each one capable of rending steel to mere fibers. The mere movement of the   
ingrown weapons sent streaks of blue ripping through the air. Their legs pounded   
the ground like organic pistons as their velocity brought them upon their   
hapless target in half a second's time.  
  
The first one gained altitude with a powerful leap. He sent himself flying like   
a torpedo, mouth opened revealing row after row of sharpened fangs that could   
tear the hide off the most toughened elephant. He was fully intent on biting the   
fool boy's head off his neck and feed on his esophagus, but the boy proved to be   
not so easy a kill. The wolf slammed into him full-force, sending the both of   
them tumbling to the ground.  
  
Ryoga could feel the burning hot breath of the beast bearing down on his face.   
The organic razors were mere inches from ripping his skin from his flesh. The   
only things keeping him intact were his very own hands against either jaw,   
forcing the creature's mouth open and keeping his teeth at bay. The wolf   
attempted to resist, he bit down with all the strength his jaws possessed but   
they would not budge. It felt as if someone had jammed a crowbar in his mouth,   
nothing he tried would budge the hands of the boy under him.  
  
He grimaced slightly as he felt that too much time had passed already with this   
one assailant. Instead of simply resisting the maw of death before him, he   
started pushing against it. The werewolf's eyes snapped to attention as he   
realized that he was not willingly opening his mouth wider. The beast could feel   
the burning agony as the skin of his mouth was stretched far beyond its limits.   
Popping sounds the bone dislocating followed, and in one final, savage heave, a   
wet cracking sound echoed in-between them.  
  
The creature went limp, and it the total of its weight came falling down upon   
Ryoga. He pushed off with his legs and sent the carcass of the beast flying into   
his partner. The wolf showed as much care for the dead as it did for the living,   
it simply the cadaver to one side and made his bid for the meal on legs. Ryoga   
kicked to his feet and met the manimal head-on. They charged each other this   
time and when they collided it was in a near thunderous impact. They both   
grasped hands and the battle fell down to a test of strength.  
  
The two dug their respective feet into the ground. Veins began popping into the   
arms of the werewolf as he boasted his superior strength, knowing this would not   
last long. All werewolves were superior to humans in every physical respect.   
Ryoga simply grinned as he saw the gleam appear in the monster's eyes. He   
probably thought he could win, quite an error, or so he would soon learn.  
  
The beast was now becoming surprised. Somehow the human was actually managing to   
match him. He was exerting all his monstrous strength and yet he was not gaining   
sufficient ground in this struggle. The wolf was feeling a growing pressure in   
his arm, but he did not, all he could think of was overpowering this human. The   
match would continue for a precious amount of seconds, neither one budging from   
the other's grasp for any reason.  
  
"It's over."   
  
The wolf raised an eyebrow at what the boy could possibly mean by that. It was   
then it took enough time to notice that the pressure in its arms had built to   
near unbearable levels. Flesh tearing as bone buckled and bent under the unholy   
stress followed a sharp sound of snapping. The wolf howled in murderous agony as   
the hellish torture seemed to only increase.   
  
Ryoga withdrew his hands and drew back one fist. The collision of fist to   
stomach actually picked the beast off its feet for a brief moment. Right before   
the teen's fist exploded out of the monster's back. His fist was covered in the   
wet insides of the animal as it too slunk against him, its body no longer   
capable of functioning correctly.  
  
  
  
The third watched all this with a minimum of interest. The thing that caught his   
eyes was the girl the two boys had been protecting. She was now vulnerable, as   
her protectors were busy with other matters of a life-threatening variety. She   
was simply kneeling their, her eyes distant and unaware of what was going on   
around her. It would be an easy kill by far, and likely rattle the cages of the   
rebellious enemy they faced.  
  
He surged forward on all fours, making a beeline straight for his immobile prey.   
He flew off his feet as he came within range and his fist came up with a hammer   
strike that would quite literally reduce her to a spot on the ground. The blow   
came down, but just as it came within centimeters of connecting the still   
detached girl suddenly became alive with movement. She launched herself backward   
as the blow struck home, plowing through the dirt and rock as if it were fragile   
glass.  
  
The wolf grunted in confusion as the redhead landed all too nimbly at quite a   
distance away. Her eyes were still vacant and yet she had somehow kept herself   
alive. Needless to say he was having slight problems connecting the dots, so he   
simply threw logic out the window and with a flick of his wrist popped his claws   
from their sheaths. He came forward with renewed purpose and sent his death   
talons raking through the air toward the thought to be defenseless Ranko.  
  
His claws only sliced defenseless space as his continued attacks were   
effortlessly avoided. Her entire body appeared to have gone limp, but her minute   
movements always brought her clear out of the beasts killing range. All the   
while it looked as if nobody was home. Everything about her was moving on   
automatic, reflexes that had been bred so deeply that the simple act of them did   
not require thinking on her part.  
  
She had once again landed in a crouch when the beast took that moment of   
positional indecisiveness to strike. He had to move fast before she had the time   
to regain her bearings, and he did so with frightening effect. He tore through   
the air with unimaginable speed and was upon her in no time at all. One set of   
claws was already brought back and ready to eviscerate...when his motion came to   
a violent and sudden stop.  
  
He turned to see the boy in the bandanna clutching his wrist with savage force.   
It was a vice that the wolf could not escape from no matter how hard he tugged.   
This resistance was silenced by a fist impacting hard across its face, sending   
him flying off his feet and skidding into the dirt far past the girl. Ryoga was   
on his feels as he leapt after the retreating figure.  
  
He crash-landed on it as it stopped. His foot dropping all its force into his   
upper body generating a cracking sound signifying that the bone had just   
collapsed on itself. The wolf's eyes were bulging as Ryoga's hand shot out and   
took firm grasp of the beast's throat. In a flexing of strength, the windpipe   
gave under his ihnhuman strength, crushing the pathway and ceasing the flow of   
oxygen.  
  
  
  
All the while, a battle in mid-air was occurring. Ranma and the three sanctioned   
to go after him and each made a gravity defying bound that brought them untold   
feet above Mother Earth. They each made the peak of their jumps, and found   
themselves weightless for a few precious seconds. It was at this point the   
beasts attacked, each one trying to gain some form of physical contact before   
gravity reclaimed them.  
  
The maneuverability the pigtailed boy showed in the air was uncanny. The first   
wolf was coming up directly under him, just as he was beginning his drop. As   
such he used the his shoulder's as a springboard to give himself extra hang time   
while at the same making the beast's trip down that much faster. He launched him   
forward and up, putting on a collision course with the area he deduced the   
second wolf would appear. Somehow, in a move should not have been humanly   
possible, he reversed his position so that he was flying forward feet first.   
  
Just as he had predicted his feet slammed into the face of the man-beast just as   
it reached its peak. He was also used as a catalyst as he pushed off hard,   
knocking the animal off kilter and making its drop that much more difficult to   
recover from. This time he threw himself into a back flip, only to twist in mid-  
air, turning it into a vicious axe-kick that collided with the third and final   
enemy. The blow hit square on the top of its head.  
  
The first two landed with an earth shaking impact, but were still capable of   
fighting. The third, however, had met with an unfortunate twist of luck and   
landed on his neck. His entire throat bent at an awkward angle in respect to his   
body, making it quite clear that he was permanently out of the fight.  
  
Ranma landed silently in-between the two remaining hunters, who snarled their   
displeasure at being so rudely assisted back to Earth. The boy casually eyed the   
both of them before flexing his fingers. A hazy blue surrounded his body as   
small sparks popped in and out of existence around his hands. Slowly, ki-claws   
began to form from the fingertips. They grew in vaporous length until they were   
each an inch in span.  
  
One could hear the beastly laughter escapes the wolves' lips. At that same   
moment a mist of red envelop their bodies. They each released a blood-curdling   
roar that split the air. The sound of a beast unleashing its fury   
upon the world would instantly send anyone into a shaking cower. Their fangs   
elongated, their claws grew that much sharper as intense heat began radiating   
from them, and their mass began to bulge and increase in certain areas   
amplifying their already nightmarish speed and strength.  
  
"Let's hurry this up, I don't have all day..." Ranma said simply.  
  
The two beasts circled their prey, trying to ascertain the best point to score   
an instant kill. Ranma was unmoving, allowing them to create whatever plans they   
feel were necessary to win. Soon there position placed them at his back and   
front, and it was then they chose that time to strike. They each charged in for   
the slaughter, knowing he could not defend in both directions at once.  
  
The beast to his rear speared his claws forward; intent on driving them clear   
through his bodily structure. The one coming at the front did the same, and it   
looked as if the boy would be skewered two ways. It almost looked like they had   
succeeded, if it weren't for the fact that his body began to fade away after the   
fact.  
  
One of the wolves felt a slight tapping on his forehead. It was the heel of the   
boy, standing on his head. The beast's claw instantly shot up to intercept the   
annoying pest. The boy moved fast, and drove the ki-claws that accented each   
finger into the top of the man-eater's skull. Without waiting to view the   
effects he withdrew the weapons and flipped forward, sending himself over the   
second beast.   
  
Said animal whirled around in an attempt to retaliate, but could not do so as he   
found the same claws driven straight through his throat.  
  
"Took you long enough," Ryoga's voice came from behind. "We're kinda on the   
clock here, don't you remember?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know," He rolled his eyes as he removed the energy claws from the   
unloving beast's throat.   
  
The weapons dissipated, and he shook his fingers to remove the horrid tingling   
sensation from them. He had yet to perfect the skill, but at its current level   
they made quite effective weapons against larger opponents.  
  
"RYUU! POP! HURRY AND WRAP THINGS UP IN THERE!!!" Ranma aimed the yell at the   
forest.  
  
At that same moment, an unknown object dropped out of the trees. It was followed   
by another...and another...and another. The severed body parts of so many   
werewolves began littering the forest floor like raindrops. Each cut was a   
perfect incision, with not a single jagged edge to be seen.  
  
Two figures dropped down from the treeline, the only indication they existed was   
the slight distortion they created in the atmosphere when they moved.  
  
"The threat has been neutralized for now," Ryuu Kumon reported as the affects of   
the ki-based cloaking technique faded away. "But...if I know wolf hunting   
patterns correctly, the friends of these guys are gonna be coming around to see   
why dinner is taking so long."  
  
"Indeed. We had best not be here when that happens," Genma agreed as he too   
reemerged into their field of vision. "At that point their number will far   
surpass ours."  
  
"I can't hear anything anymore," Ranko said quietly as she approached. Her mind   
returned to her body and the effects of the enhanced vision and hearing she had   
granted her protectors having worn off. "So we should have enough time to get   
out of their territory."  
  
Ryoga retrieved his enormous backpack while Ranma took to staring at the sky.   
Taking particular attention to the position of the stars above.  
  
"If we keep going this way, we should reach Nerima in three days time," Genma   
informed his son.   
  
"Alright, we better get moving then," Ranma then turned to his father. "You know   
you still haven't said who the heck this Soun Tendo guy is."  
  
"He is a very good friend of mine and an old training partner from my younger   
days," He remembered. "He has three daughters which I think you, Ryuu, and Ryoga   
will get along very well with."  
  
"And...how you can be so sure of that, old man?" Ryuu raised an eyebrow in   
suspicion.  
  
"HAHAHAHA!" He laughed heartily. "I just have a good feeling, that's all!"  
  
EVERYONE was now giving him glares. If they had learned anything from the man,   
it was that everything he did had a double meaning.  
  
"We should get moving," He said quickly as he pressed ahead of everyone.  
  
"Why do I suddenly have a very queasy feeling in my stomach..." Ryoga whispered.  
  
"Just let it go man," Ranma sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just go   
with the flow..."  
  
"It'll be alright," Ranko said cheerily as she patted her brother on the arm.   
"If he does try anything, we can always feed him to the wolf men."  
  
"Huh..." He seemed to perk up slightly. "Good point. Let's go."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continued.........  
  
  
  
Chapter Inspirations:  
"Keep Hope Alive" by Crystal Method  
"When Worlds Collide" by Powerman 5000  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
1). First off, I would like to thank Image Comics and its WildStorm Universe   
label. This is NOT a fusion or a crossover, I'm simply stating that inspiration   
for certain abilities that will be portrayed in this story was inspired by them.   
Given that, can anyone take a guess as to whose powers Nabiki's abilities   
reflect?  
  
2). Fans of the game will most likely recognize the head honcho that the Tendos   
encountered at the end of their segment. And if you don't, his identity will be   
revealed next chapter anyway. So it really doesn't matter.  
  
3). I WILL be working on this and Shadowlands at the same time, but chapters for   
Silent Knights will come out at nowhere near the same rate as Shadowlands. This   
is because I will be working on this story in between chapters of the first.   
However, if response to this is that much greater, then the two will switch in   
priority.  
  
4). Since this story has not been pre-read (as is my custom for the first   
chapter of a new story), C&C is highly valued now more than ever. Of course, it   
is archived for later reference. 


End file.
